To meet a demand for radio data traffic that is on an increasing trend since commercialization of a fourth generation (4G) communication system, efforts to develop an improved fifth generation (5G) communication system or a pre-5G communication system have been conducted. For this reason, the 5G communication system or the pre-5G communication system is called a communication system beyond 4G network or a system since the post long term evolution (LTE). To achieve a high data transmission rate, the 5G communication system is considered to be implemented in a super high frequency (mmWave) band (for example, like 60 GHz band). To relieve a path loss of a radio wave and increase a transfer distance of a radio wave in the super high frequency band, in the 5G communication system, beamforming, massive multiple input and multiple output (MIMO), full dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antenna, analog beam-forming, and large scale antenna technologies have been discussed. Further, to improve a network of the system, in the 5G communication system, technologies such as evolved small cell, advanced small cell, cloud radio access network (cloud RAN), ultra-dense network, device to device communication (D2D), wireless backhaul, moving network, cooperative communication, coordinated multi-points (CoMP), and interference cancellation have been developed. In addition to this, in the 5G system, hybrid FSK and QAM modulation (FQAM) and sliding window superposition coding (SWSC) that are an advanced coding modulation (ACM) scheme and a filter bank multi carrier (FBMC), a non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA), and a sparse code multiple access (SCMA) which are an advanced access technology, and so on have been developed.
Meanwhile, the internet has evolved to an internet of things (IoT) network that transmits and receives information, such as things, between distributed components and processes the information, in a human-centered connection network through which a human being generates and consumes information. The internet of everything (IoE) technology in which the big data processing technology, etc., by connection with a cloud server, etc., is combined with the IoT technology has also emerged. To implement the IoT, technology elements, such as a sensing technology, wired and wireless communication and network infrastructure, a service interface technology, and a security technology, have been required. Recently, technologies such as a sensor network, machine to machine (M2M), and machine type communication (MTC) for connecting between things has been researched. In the IoT environment, an intelligent internet technology (IT) service that creates a new value in human life by collecting and analyzing data generated in the connected things may be provided. The IoT may be applied to fields, such as a smart home, a smart building, a smart city, a smart car or a connected car, a smart grid, health care, smart appliances, and an advanced healthcare service by fusing and combining the existing information technology (IT) with various industries.
Therefore, various tries to apply the 5G communication system to the IoT network have been conducted. For example, the 5G communication technologies such as the technologies of the sensor network, the machine to machine (M2M), the machine type communication (MTC) are implemented by techniques such as the beam-forming, the MIMO, the array antenna, or the like. An example of the application of the cloud radio access network (cloud RAN) as the big data processing technology described above may also be the fusing of the 5G technology with the IoT technology.
A universal integrated circuit card (UICC) is a smart card inserted into a mobile communication terminal, etc., and is called a UICC card. The UICC may include an access control module for accessing a network of a mobile carrier. An example of the access control module may include a universal subscriber identity module (USIM), a subscriber identity module (SIM), an internet protocol (IP) multimedia service identity module (ISIM), etc. The UICC including the USIM is generally called an USIM card. Similarly, the UICC including an SIM module is generally called an SIM card. In the following description of the present disclosure, the SIM card is used as a general meaning including the UICC, etc. in which the UICC card, the USIM card, and the ISIM are included. That is, the technology of the SIM card may be identically applied to the USIM card, the ISIM card, or even the general UICC card.
The SIM card may store personal information on a mobile communication subscriber and perform subscriber authentication and a generation of a traffic security key upon an access to a mobile communication network, thereby implementing the use of the safe mobile communication.
The SIM card is generally manufactured as a dedicated card for the corresponding mobile carrier by a request of a specific mobile carrier upon manufacturing of a card at this time of the filing of the present disclosure. A card in which authentication information for accessing a network, for example, universal subscriber identity module (USIM) application and international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI), a K value, an object linking and embedding (OLE) for process control (OPc) value or OPc value, etc., is mounted in advance is released. Therefore, the corresponding mobile carrier receives the manufactured SIM card and delivers the SIM card to a subscriber. Thereafter, if necessary, the SIM card may use technologies of over the air (OTA), etc., to perform managements of installation, modification, deletion, etc., of applications within the UICC. A subscriber inserts the UICC card into his/her own mobile communication terminal to use a network of the corresponding mobile carrier and application services. In addition, when replacing a terminal, a subscriber takes out the UICC card from the existing terminal and inserts the UICC card into a new terminal, such that the new terminal may use authentication information, a mobile communication telephone number, a personal telephone directory, etc., which are stored in the UICC as they are.
However, the SIM card is generally inconvenient for a mobile communication terminal user in receiving services of other mobile carriers. There could be an inconvenience in that the mobile communication terminal user needs to physically get the SIM card to receive services from a mobile carrier. For example, an inconvenience may occur when a mobile communication terminal user travels to other countries, and he or she needs to get an on-site SIM card to receive on-site mobile communication services. A roaming service may somewhat solve the foregoing inconveniences, but there is a problem in that the mobile communication terminal user may not wish to receive the roaming services due to an expensive fee and when a contract between providers are not established.
Meanwhile, a significant portion of the foregoing inconveniences may be solved by remotely downloading and installing the SIM module to and in the UICC card. That is, the SIM module of the mobile communication service to be used may be downloaded to the UICC card at the user's desired time. The UICC card may also download and install a plurality of SIM modules and may select and use only one of the plurality of SIM modules. The UICC card may be fixed in a terminal or may not be fixed in the terminal. In particular, the UICC fixed in the terminal is called an embedded UICC (eUICC). Generally, the eUICC fixed in the terminal means the UICC card which may download and select SIM modules remotely. According to various embodiments of present disclosure, the UICC card which may download and select the SIM module remotely is commonly called the eUICC. The UICC card fixed in the terminal or not fixed in the terminal among the UICC cards which may download and select the SIM modules remotely is commonly called the eUICC. Further, information on the downloaded SIM module is commonly used as the term eUICC profile.
The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the present disclosure.